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BOOKSHELF
An Autumnal Chill
MCHUGH’S NEWEST NOVEL YOU NEED THIS FALL. BY OLIVIA DESMIT · PHOTOS BY L.G. PATTERSON
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oftware-developerturned-novelist Laura McHugh released
her fourth mystery book this summer, What’s Done in Darkness, earning national recognition in Oprah Daily’s 2021’s Best Beach Reads, ELLE Magazine’s Best Books of the Summer list and Harlan Coben’s pick for Best Summer Thriller. Staying true to her colors, McHugh details a chilling plot set in a remote rural town in the Ozarks. McHugh introduces her own spin on familial hardship as a young woman confronts her past — involving abduction and an oppressive cult. While this story stems from McHugh’s imagination, the inspiration was derived from real women’s abduction cases and their struggle to be heard and believed. The book broaches the way in which women can be victim-blamed or gaslit after suffering abduction or abuse — something McHugh is passionate about bringing attention to. In our interview with McHugh, she shares her thought process behind 156 INSIDE COLUMBIA SEPTEMBER 2021
What’s Done in Darkness, her
in their teens. The main
and it’s dark and suspenseful
accomplishments as a writer
character, Sarabeth, seeks
and a bit creepy like all of my
and her ambitions
a way out of this life and is
work. It touches on a favorite
in storytelling.
abducted from her family’s
theme of mine. I’m always
Arkansas farm. When she is
writing about family and its
set free, nobody believes her
inherent complications.
Question: What is the main premise for your newest book, What’s Done in Darkness? Answer: It is about a young
woman whose family belongs to a strict, cult-like backwoods
story — until five years later.
Q: How does this novel differentiate from your previous works?
Q: What awards has your newest novel achieved?
A: The book was published this year, so any awards or
church where girls and
A: It’s similar to my previous
women wear long dresses,
novels in some ways. It’s set in
happen until 2022. It has
behave submissively and
the Ozarks like The Weight of
garnered some accolades,
enter arranged marriages
Blood, in a remote rural area,
though. The most exciting
nominations would not
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